Juvenile offenders and PTSD

Juvenile offenders often have high rates of mental illness and have often experienced trauma in their lives. A Japanese study of 64 female juvenile offenders aimed to describe the nature and extent of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma exposure and its links with other psychosocial factors and mental-health problems. The prevalence for PTSD was 33% and 77% of the sample had been exposed to trauma. The offenders with PTSD had significantly higher risks of other mental illnesses. Depression and adverse parenting were associated with PTSD development and abnormal eating was also correlated with PTSD symptoms. Marked differences in the frequency and intensity of PTSD evaluation depending on the type of trauma experienced and other mental-health problems the offenders were suffering from were observed.

Ariga, Michi0 ... [et al] - Trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder in delinquent female adolescents Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry January 2008, 49(1), 79-87